Zoe Boucher

Recent Ceramics work from Sydney College of the Arts

2008-11-11T15:54:00.001-08:00

This work is made up of about 40-50 small thrown and carved pieces that were raku fired. Each piece is made up of its own small composition of forms. The individual pieces can be balanced on one another precariously and can form innumerable different compositions and shapes. People have seen many different forms in these pieces, including coral, native plants charred by a bush fire, and dancers. Jan Guy said the pieces looked Baroque in their excess. I think this work functions successfully because it cannot be defined by one thing; instead it references many things simultaneously and fluidly as the composition changes. I prefer to balance pieces rather than adhering them because this leaves the potential for change at any moment, thus creating tension in the piece (as different forms can fall --and did fall a few times, due to wind).

Research: Artist Websites and Self-Publishing

2008-11-11T15:49:00.000-08:00

Today’s era of online self-publishing has provided artists with a new platform for discussing and displaying their work, networking and promoting themselves. Websites allow artists to post their artist statements, bibliographies, art works and ideas. They are able to sell their work and promote themselves without relying on galleries. They challenge the more traditional elitist system of gallery representation for artists, making self-promotion and self-publication affordable and available to everyone, opening up the previously exclusive world of art publication to the general public.

The Australian Business Arts Foundation has published a document entitled “Business Skills for Visual Artists” which gives an overview highlighting three major types of online sites where artists can promote their work. The first type of website is called a Template site, which allows artists to update the site and provides some flexibility in the appearance of an individual’s website. Using the Template, artists can add images and biographies, as well as organizing mailing and stock listings (Australia Business Arts Foundation). Here are three examples of Template sites for artists:

www.arthives.com

www.foliolink.com

http://www.homestead.com/

The second type of website for artists is called an Artist Community site. These sites are usually designed and operated by artists, for artists, at little to no cost. Community sites are used for networking with other artists, as users may upload their work, write about their ideas in a blog, and/or post their biography and artist statement (Australia Business Arts Foundation). Artist Community sites encourage interaction and mutual feedback between artists who use the site. These sites are focused on networking and collaboration between artists rather than on buying and selling work (although prices may be listed). These websites often take the form of .org and .net organizations and networks rather than .com commercial sites. Here are three examples of Artist Community sites:

www.artistsites.org

http://www.visualarts.net.au/gallery

www.salafestival.com

The third type of artist-based website is a Portal site. These are commercial sites focused on connecting art makers and art buyers, allowing both groups to search for artworks. These sites charge fees for artists to exhibit their work on a search network. These sites may also connect users to other art-related products and services such as framers (Australia Business Arts Foundation). These sites constitute a commercially based network of web pages designed to connect the galleries, buyers and makers to promote business transactions, unlike Artist Community sites which enable artists to discuss their work and form social networks with each other. Following are examples of Portal sites:

www.artsconnect.com.au

http://www.artwhatson.com.au/

The advent of digital photography made it possible for anyone and everyone to take photos and upload them to the internet, achieving results that previously could only have been created by professionals. Likewise, the creation of websites has made it possible for artists themselves to take on some of the functions once performed only by gallery owners. Although there are numerous benefits for artists using websites to post their work – including the opportunity to network with others in the industry, as well ways to promote themselves — it can be argued that the wide accessibility of such sites has diluted the market, since anyone and everyone can create blogs or online gallery spaces. While the traditional process of selecting only a few artists’ work for gallery exhibitions has had the effect of creating an elitist marketplace, barring many artists from finding a wider audience for their work, there is a formal selection process in place that purports to screen for quality. By contrast, the current proliferation of artists’ websites has reduced the overall quality of work displayed online, therefore undermining the credibility of this format.

Bibliography:

Australia Business Arts Foundation. “Website Resources for Artists.” Business Skills for Visual Artists. 2007. 6 November 2008.

Artist Statement/Studio Processes and Concepts

2008-11-06T21:04:00.000-08:00

As an artist working in both ceramics and photography, I have become aware of a constant struggle in my work to preserve experiences, which belong to the past. While I am not consciously working towards the goal of preservation, this process is inherent in the materials themselves.

When a ceramic work is fired, the clay transforms and vitrifies. Once the clay is vitrified, it is stronger and can no longer be easily reworked or recycled. Ceramic is an enduring material; many ceramic artifacts have survived for centuries, providing us with links to some of the world’s earliest cultures.

Although a photograph does not have the same inherent capacity for physical endurance as a ceramic object, the act of photographing captures that has passed and fixes or preserves it for future viewers. For example, Victorian photographs of the dead have long outlived their subjects and preserve them to this day. Cultural critic and theorist Roland Barthes has written that: “All young photographers who are at work in the world, determined upon the capture of actuality, do not know that they are agents of Death” (photoquotes.com). Barthes’ view was that photographs are not a representation of ‘what is,’ as that moment has passed and therefore photographs can only represent ‘what was.’ By recording moments of the past, we become more aware of the continual changes in the world.

I find this notion of preservation relevant to the properties of my materials, but I question how materials that preserve the past can successfully interact at the same time with the current context. While preservation is an important function of my materials, my primary conceptual interest is in the ephemeral. It is the intersection of temporality and permanence that creates a duality and tension within my work as an artist.

I love working with clay precisely because there is a constant tension in the process. The clay reacts and responds to being worked and retains a physical memory, which can cause it to crack and break. I respond to the fact that breaks and changes can occur in clay in each state, from wet to fired. I enjoy the chemistry of oxides and glazes, along with the spontaneous events that occur in the uncontrolled atmospheres of wood, soda, salt and raku firings. My ceramic work is the result of the collaboration between my hands, tools, clay, glaze and the atmosphere of the firing itself. This collaboration and the spontaneity inherent in the firing process have held my attention for the past eight years.

Although my studio practice is based primarily in ceramics and photography, I have diversified my materials over the years, using bronze and paper casting, woodworking and welding in recent works. My art practice is not defined by any one material; I find working in a single material to be limiting.

I define my recent photographic work as focused on capturing an emotion or atmosphere rather than depicting an event, place or time. I struggle to move photography beyond the boundaries of literal visual representation towards the more abstract and emotional content that can be found in modern painting, for instance.

At the same time, my recent ceramic work has placed an emphasis on multiples. I use the wheel as a primary tool in most of my ceramic sculptures. I create a tension between the objects and the space around them, carefully balancing and stacking forms without the use of adhesives. The over-arching concept in my work is based on memory and fragments of the past. These are then reconstructed into new abstract forms, which reference multiple organic shapes and topics.

In my experience the work comes before the concept; rather than waiting for an idea to spark a work, I work to spark an idea. I find a method of working that interests me and then work and work for weeks and months; it is usually a few weeks after the work is finished that I can then take time to reflect and dissect the theme/concept behind my method of working. The concept is formed subconsciously as I work but I find it too frustrating to both work intensely on a piece and consciously make sense of a concept.

Short Resume/CV

2008-11-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

Zoë C. Boucher
531 Putnam Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
zcb1@alfred.edu

Education:

Sydney (Australia) College of Art, fall 2008. Participant in semester-long exchange program for undergraduates, taking coursework in photography and ceramics.

College (entered fall 2006): Alfred University, School of Art & Design (within the New York State College of Ceramics) Alfred, NY. Awarded half-tuition merit scholarship for all four years based on portfolio; named one of twelve entering Miller Scholars in Art & Design, with additional merit-based scholarship. Dean’s List.

High school, 2002-2006: Visual Arts Major at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Natick, MA. Honors student for all four years; recipient of full scholarship all four years; graduated with honors. President of Emerge Club (diversity issues) for two years; invited by Dean of Students to participate as member of school-wide Committee on Diversity, with faculty & alumni, in sophomore year. Coursework included: ceramics, photography, printmaking, painting, drawing, 2-D and new media.

Studied also at: SMFA (School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston), Mass. College of Art, Brookline Arts Center, Mudflat Studio, Arlington Center for the Arts, New Art Center of Newton, Worcester Center for Craft. Coursework also included: 2-D mixed media, silk-screening, silver jewelry-making.

Art Shows/Exhibitions:

Semi-annual shows of student work at the Pooke Gallery, Walnut Hill School, Natick, MA, winter & spring 2002-2006; including senior show shared with two other visual artists, April 2006.

Ceramics and photography shown in annual Cambridgeport Artists’ Open Studios (CAOS) show, fall 2002-2005, as part of Riverbend Studio.

Photography (B&W and color digital) shown at first “Arts Central” weekend festival, summer 2005, Central Square, Cambridge, MA

Ceramic “stirrup bottle” (approximately 30” tall) selected for inclusion in national juried show of student work at the National Ceramics Educators’ Conference in Baltimore, MD, March 2005.

B&W photos exhibit, 2004, Worcester Artists’ Group Gallery, Worcester, MA.

“Photo quilt” shown in “Drop Cloth Art” show at Zeitgeist Gallery, Cambridge, MA, October 2003.

Art Employment:

Youth worker, arts & leadership program
John Marshall Elementary School
Dorchester, MA

Volunteered four hours per week, fall 2005, leading arts-related and student government activities for urban elementary school students, in a program affiliated with Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, MA. For reference, call: Steven Durning at 508-650-5039.

Studio assistant/intern
Ceramics Program at Harvard University
219 Western Avenue
Allston, MA 02134

Employed as summer 2005 studio assistant/intern at large, fully equipped ceramics studio. Received mentoring from professional ceramic artists, participated in all aspects of studio operation and maintenance, including: clay preparation, making glazes, loading and unloading kilns. Supervisor: Nancy Selvage, Director, @ 617-495-8680.

Mudflat Studio
Broadway
Somerville, MA

Served as assistant teacher for children’s clay classes for six weeks, summers of 2001 and 2002. Duties included: clay preparation, demonstrations of technique, studio clean-up, management of behavior problems, etc. Contact Lynne Gervens, Studio Director, @ 617-628-0589.

Language Skills:

Fluent in French; minimal Creole; studied the Twi language in Ghana; some prior study of Spanish.

Technical Skills:

Full range of photography and darkroom skills.

Familiar with a range of print-making techniques, as well as use of drawing, painting, MIG welding, wood-working and bronze casting.

Wheel-throwing, mold-making and hand-building with clay; glaze mixing; soda, raku, salt, wood, reduction, and electric kiln firing.

Familiar with both Macintosh and PC computer formats, including use of Adobe PhotoShop software.

Ceramic works

2008-11-06T19:21:00.000-08:00

I made these pieces at Alfred University during fall 2007 and spring 2008. The top image is made up of several thrown cylinders that were attached when the clay was very wet and began to slump. The piece was fired raw in the wood kiln.

This series was made by dipping dust masks found throughout the Alfred Ceramics college facilities in red casting slip. The fiber of the masks burnt away in the gas firing leaving light, brittle, shells of clay and only the metal nose piece remained embedded in the pieces. Then each mask was assembled in the installation in a grid and filled with damp cigarette butts found on the ground outside the ceramics studio.
This series was made by pressing small wads of terracotta into a wooden frame the size of a kiln brick. The barnacles attached to the bricks were thrown on the wheel and then pinched to create contours. The barnacles were colored with white terra sigillata and the brick surface was brushed with black iron oxide and soda fired. Then the pieces were arranged in a line and stacked . The installation was my visual reponse and interperation of Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall."

Black and White Photographs 2008

2008-11-06T19:05:00.000-08:00

Recent Photographic works from Sydney

2008-09-03T17:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my recent photo investigations of how we experience a new place. These were taken inside of the 432 bus to and from Circular Quay. The motion and reflective light quality are important methods for me in describing this intangible emotion. This is an on going process which involves taking a lot of images (most of which are rubbish) and then editing. I am looking for images where the motion transforms the objects, but doesn't distort them completely, leaving traces of their original form. It is this state of materialization and distortion that is important in describing how we experience foreign places -- primarily in transit.

Final Project: Restrain(t)

2008-04-27T09:29:00.000-07:00

I am exploring an object which restrains or restricts the motion of playing a record. I thought this might be a good start:

Restrain:

1 a: To prevent from doing, exhibiting, or expressing something <restrained the child from jumping> b: to limit, restrict, or keep under controlrestrain your anger>

2: to moderate or limit the force, effect development, or full exercise of <restrain trade>

3: to deprive of liberty; especially: to place under arrest or restraint

Final Project

2008-04-23T16:34:00.000-07:00

So I am beginning to figure out my final project. I am making an object to restrain the movement of playing a record. I altered a fabulous pair of cheetah-print gloves last night so that they inhibit motion in all the fingers except for the pinkies. I now need pick the music for the piece. I want it to be from the 50's or 60's in keeping with the time period of the gloves and the record player. I now need to make a shelf to display the piece (if I can install it wherever our show will be) and I need to film one of my roommates performing with these gloves.

I feel like I've been working in the dark this whole semester. We have no where to work, no space for our class to work because our classroom is a shared space. I have heard people complaining about grading for the class. I find it difficult because we work by ourselves some where else and then present our work with no feedback until the critique. I hope we will be provided with more feedback next week in our in-process critiques. I feel like the assignments have been so broad which is great, but we haven't had enough clear feedback along the way to encourage our ideas and craft to be improved, which has led to a somewhat bitter class as we were suddenly given grades. I hope the process will improve as we enter or final project.

story of the kiln god

2008-04-17T20:48:00.000-07:00

So I thought I ought to give some background information on the tradition of the kiln god. Kiln gods can be found in the traditions of many ancient cultures including the Chinese (Tung- the god of fire) and the Egyptian (Khun- protector of all things made on the wheel) cultures. Kiln gods are traditionally made out of raw or fired clay and placed over the entrance to the kiln. Kiln gods are used as good luck idols to bless each firing.

I chose to make my miniature monument to Alfred a kiln god to represent the ceramic history and traditions being passed on at the New York State College of Ceramics. Although bronze is not a typical material to use for a kiln god, I think it is appropriate because it is an enduring material that will outlast clay. The first thing I think of when I think of Alfred is ceramics. Ceramics is a central part of the village's history. I wanted to commemorate this long history of ceramics in Alfred and acknowledge its ancient origins.

To see more images of kiln gods click on the link for Kiln God National.

Bronze Kiln God on Site

2008-04-16T14:15:00.000-07:00

I went today and took pictures of my bronze kiln god mini-monument on top of the wood kiln.

My How to Guides

2008-04-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

So I decided to do my how to guides on the two thing me and my suite mates do everyday:

-Brew delicious pots of coffee

-Play records

I have started by taking digital pictures of them performing these tasks step by step. Now I am going to trace/sketch them into my guide books and write up the instructions. I have to go up to the print shop or photo studio to use the light tables. I will scan in pages from the book once their done and I have access to a scanner. We had fun acting out and taking pictures, I'm taking that as a good start. Fun seems to be an important aspect in my studio process. In ceramics we're just experimenting and having fun, which is perfect for this time of the year when no one really cares anymore and we all just want to be outside in the sunshine.

2008-04-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

This is what I got while researching how to guides:

"How to..."

Pump Up Your Search Skills

By Susan Ayers Walker

When you think of searching the Internet, you probably think of Google or Yahoo, and you probably search by typing in a few key words into the query box and hope the results will contain something useful. Although that may be a quick way to perform a search, with billions of pages of content throughout the Internet, your results likely contain more useless and unrelated junk than the information you are seeking.

Here are a few simple tricks that will enable you to tap into the power that search engines can deliver and improve your odds of obtaining meaningful search results.

Using Double Quotes

Some search engines like Google evaluate each word individually. Knowing how to group words in your search query will be helpful. For example, if you're looking for song lyrics, a book title or a quote, you'll have better results if you place double quotes around the phrase you are seeking. This makes the search engine look for the words in the exact order as typed between the quotes. This is also useful when searching for a person, place, or thing that has two or more words in its name, title or description, such as “John Paul Jones”, “Colorado River”, or “salt water taffy”.

Be Specific

If you use too few words or words with double meanings you will likely not get the results you are looking for. If you want a nice image of a pink rose, you should be aware that the word rose is both a flower and a type of pink wine. Because search engines typically return pages that contain all of the words you type into the query box, using just the words pink rose will return hundreds of thousands of pages that have both roses and wine in them.

To make your search query more specific, you can make your search words more detailed, such as pink rose flower clipart. You can also place a minus sign (–) without a space in front of the word you don't want (in this example, you would type –wine). Just as with math, the minus sign subtracts a key word from your search and helps you avoid getting pages that you don't want. For this search, typing “pink rose” flower clipart –wine gives you a good chance of finding what you're looking for in the first 20 or so returns. You can also do this with bothersome words that show up in your search results.

Google offers many helpful features for searching all sorts of specific areas such as movies, music, phone numbers, people, stocks, the weather and much more. Just go to Google's Web Search Features to see their selection of specific search features. Yahoo! Shortcuts also offers special features designed to help you to find answers quickly they can be found at Yahoo! Help.

Specialized Search Engines

There are hundreds of free, specialized search engines that can also help your search. Here are some of my favorites.

Dogpile® is a meta search engine, which means that it gives you results from many search engines and web sources. Dogpile currently gets its results from Google, Yahoo, Live search, Ask, and more.

Search-22 is a directory of search engines, especially for kids and teens. You can find links to family-safe sites and reference and educational search engines.

The National Archives offers a search of the records from every branch of the Federal government. Almost all Americans can use this site to find themselves, their ancestors, or their community in these archives.

Zillow.com™ is an online real estate search engine dedicated to helping people find places to live or get the value of the home you have today. It also offers interesting housing information and maps.

Wink is a people search engine. The search engine finds individuals who are active Internet or social network users. It searches the public profiles on MySpace, Bebo, Friendster, LinkedIn, Live Spaces, and other sources.

I thought this might be useful to everyone in their internet researching

water in motion

2008-04-07T22:48:00.000-07:00

Along with looking at how the body moves through water I am also interested in researching how water moves in the ocean in tides, whirlpools, tide pools, and currents. I am also interested in mapping and the different techniques used to map water and its movement patterns.

how to swim

2008-04-06T21:33:00.000-07:00

This is another quirky image I found on "how to swim"

2008-04-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

This what I got when I Googled: "How to Swim" these are instructions on how to swim free-style. I liked the descriptions of the motions and how the body and water interact.

Step 1: Visualize a line running down the center of your body from your chin to your chest. This line is the axis upon which your whole body should pivot, and it should extend horizontally in the direction you are swimming.

Step 2: Keep your legs straight, but not rigid, with your toes pointed out, and kick up and down. Continue kicking the entire time.

Step 3: Move your arms in a windmill motion opposite each other. While one arm is extended completely out, the other should be all the way back, almost against the side of your body.

Step 4: Keep your hands flat, thumb separated from the index finger and pull the extended arm through the water beneath your body. Bend your arm at the elbow and draw your fingertips along the imaginary line down the center of your body.

Step 5: Lift your other arm out of the water and move it all the way forward as the first arm is pulling beneath you. Bend at the elbow and drag your fingertips along the surface of the water. Penetrate the water with your fingertips and completely extend the arm.

Step 6: Breathe on one side by turning your head to that side as the arm comes out of the water.

Body in water research

2008-04-06T21:08:00.001-07:00

Here are some images I found of different leg movements in water. Water provides buoyancy and flexibility allowing the body to move in ways not easily replicated on land.

Body and motion research

2008-04-06T20:50:00.000-07:00

As a part of our Intro to Sculpture class we were asked to research a motion or set of motions our bodies make. I thought a lot about the body and its relationship to gravity, light, and force. In my Recent Sculptural Practices art history class we have been reading a lot about minimalism and the triangulation between the viewer (body), the work of art, and the space. Many artists such as Olafur Eliasson, Robert Irwin and Alfredo Jaar have used light and installation space to manipulate the viewers perception of the space.

When approaching this research project I didn't want to pick a circumstance or motion arbitrarily, I wanted it to relate to my recent projects and perhaps help me develop and articulate my artistic investigations more clearly. I discussed the research process with Jonathan and he asked me "what is your work about?" It took me a little while for me to categorize and summarize the many different assignments and themes I have been working with recently and I finally came up with the concise answer: "the ocean." Until we have this discussion I was aware of my fixation with coral and other organic forms and organisms in the ocean, but it had never come together in my mind so neatly. Jonathan then suggested that I research how the body moves in water and how water moves around the body and other objects in the ocean. Perhaps this fixation with the ocean comes from my Caribbean blood. Some how since I've been away from the coast, here in Alfred I am much more sensitive to the ocean.

Bronze Pour

2008-04-06T20:47:00.001-07:00

I really enjoyed the build up to the pour and then the fast paced team work it took to execute each pour in 20 minutes.

Mold making part 2

2008-03-31T15:11:00.000-07:00

We opened up our molds today, drilled wholes, prepared the surface and glued everything together for our bronze pour tomorrow.

negative space and the body

2008-03-30T17:41:00.001-07:00

In terms of looking at my sculptural practices in relationship to the body I think I am most interested in studying negative space and using the work to frame the space. Often what is not included eludes to the artist's hand and the body. (The spoon piece is by Jac Scott, the floor piece is Ghada Amer, and the large outdoor piece is by Tony Smith)

The Armory Show

2008-03-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

On Friday my ceramics class along with the painting and photo students took a trip to NYC. We visited the Whitney Biennial and the Armory show. It was a lot of art for one trip. I wish we had more than one day to experience it all. The art at the Armory show was organized by the galleries, which left for a very crammed and eclectic environment making it difficult to appreciate each piece individually. Here are just a few of the works that stuck out at the Armory show. I will post more in a folder.

Mold making photos from the Foundry

2008-03-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

The Arch

2008-03-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

I am trying to relate my current ceramic work to the body and scale. I hope to balance eroded bricks in the shape of an arch that would be large enough for the viewer to step under, if they dared. I need to figure out how to balance the arch post firing. All I know about arches is that the keystone is essentially, beyond that I may have to enlist my engineering buddies to help me with this ambitious endeavor. I am looking at all different methods of building, my only criteria is that I don't use mortar or adhesive of any kind.

2008-03-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

This is from the DeCordova sculpture park and museum in Lincoln, MA. It is in a beautiful area in the woods. My boyfriend took me here last fall and I can't wait to go back and see it in the spring. The sculptures range from figurative statues, to asian inspired architectural pieces, to abstract flat planes, to a quirky giant pig. This is a place I could visit over and over again. I find it really refreshing to experience art outside the museum within a beautiful environment. They also sell a lot of ceramics tools for a good price in their shop.

Ceramics: Macro structures

2008-03-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

I am starting a new project in my hand-building class. My ceramics work this year has been very direct and process-based. I am still struggling to find one cohesive form and idea for this project. I wanted to use tools to create a visual day by day account of my work in varying tooling methods and processes. After sketching, brainstorming and changing my mind several times I think I am going to explore macro and micro building blocks/structures. I wanted to create a carefully balanced piece that has been tooled to the point of almost collapse, the trick is not to let it collapse as most of my work has this semester. I constantly find myself reworking my pieces last minute, despite weeks of hard work. Right now I am looking at ruins and other man made structures to inform the macro half of the piece.

2008-03-24T06:44:00.000-07:00

These were taken in Central Square in Cambridge, MA.

Describing a place

2008-03-24T06:26:00.000-07:00

In reviewing the different topics and themes in my photographic work recently, I have been able to see how my eye changes and becomes more sensitive to the different spacial qualities of each location. This may reiterate the comment Jonathan posted recently about my work. I try to capture not only the space when I photograph a place, but the energy and the atmosphere. I am not trying to recreate a scene, but describe a place and a feeling, like a painter but within a series of photographs.

Room to explore

2008-03-19T14:50:00.001-07:00

Being in such a remote area here at Alfred has given me the opportunity to explore a vast environment. There are endless woods and wildlife. I am still scared of hitting a deer with my car whenever I drive around Alfred. I have been able to explore trails, old abandoned houses and broken cars covered in brush. The space and vacancy here is so different from my experience growing up in Cambridge, which is filled with people and businesses constantly moving and being replaced.